Djibouti

The nutrition programme in Djibouti was handed over to the Ministry of Health in 2012.

With an extremely hot and dry climate and poor crop capacity, inadequate food supply is a chronic issue for the vast majority of Djiboutians. Children need essential nutrients for normal growth and development and are most vulnerable to the effects of malnutrition. For this reason, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) opened an emergency inpatient feeding centre for children in Djibouti in 2008.

MSF’s lobbying for the implementation of a preventive approach to malnutrition has resulted in the health ministry distributing ready-to-use supplementary food. This high-protein formulation contains all the nutrients children need and is proven effective in preventing malnutrition.

The team also gave technical support to the Ministry of Health so they could develop their own specialised nutrition programme. Staff training, medicines and medical equipment were provided. The ministry constructed a nutrition treatment centre and MSF handed over the programme in April. In four years, MSF teams treated 10,600 children for severe malnutrition.